Journal of Aquaculture and Fish Health Vol. 13(1) - February 2024 P-ISSN: 2301-7309 / E-ISSN: 2528-0864 doi : 10.20473/jafh.v13i1.43013 Cite this document as Maulianawati, D., Kiing, H., Dewi, D.P., Irawati, H., Mardiana, T.Y. and Amien, M., 2024. The Applica- tion of Different Types of Diffusers for African Catfish (Clarias gariepinus) Culture in Biofloc Systems: Effects on Growth and Water Quality. Journal of Aquaculture and Fish Health, 13(1), pp.69-79. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. 69 69 The Application of Different Types of Diffusers for African Catfish (Clarias gariepinus) Culture in Biofloc Systems: Effects on Growth and Water Quality Diana Maulianawati 1,2* , Hendri Kiing 1 , Dena Pramita Dewi 3 , Heni Irawati 4 , Tri Yusuf Mardiana 1 and Muhammad Amien 1 1 Department of Aquaculture, Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Science, Universitas Borneo Tarakan, Jl. Amal Lama No. 1, Tarakan, North Kalimantan 77115, Indonesia 2 Research Centre for Tropical Nature and Waters Resources of Border Region (SEATROPS), Universitas Borneo Tarakan, Jl. Amal Lama No. 1, Tarakan, North Kalimantan 77115, Indonesia 3 Laboratory of Fish Feed Nutrition, Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Science, Universitas Borneo Tarakan, Jl. Amal Lama No. 1, Tarakan, North Kalimantan 77115, Indonesia 4 Department of Waters Resources Management, Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Science, Universitas Borneo Tarakan, Jl. Amal Lama No. 1, Tarakan, North Kalimantan 77115, Indonesia Abstract Applying biofloc technology in the intensive and extensive culture of Clarias gariepinus can improve water quality and be used to feed fish. Aeration systems were a critical unit support- ing biofloc and water quality. This study's objective was the assessment of various types of diffusers on the growth and wa- ter quality in a C. gariepinus culture. Two types of diffuser units were prepared for the experiment, there are air tube dif- fuser (AT) and air stone diffuser (AS). Growth parameters, water quality, and volume of biofloc were observed within 30 days. The survival rate, weight gain, average body weight, and specific growth rate of C. gariepinus were higher in the tanks that used air tubes (98%, 485.29 %, 7.52 g, 5.89%) than in the tanks that used air stones (92 %, 385.94 %, 5.98 g, 5.23%). The volume of biofloc ranges from 5.40-18.80 ml/L in AT tanks and 4.60-14.00 ml/L in AS tanks. There is no sig- nificant difference (p > 0.05) in water quality parameters and FCR value. However, using the air tube diffuser showed better results with the growth performance, survival rate, and for- mation of biofloc. INTRODUCTION African catfish (Clarias gariepinus) is a fishery commodity with promising busi- ness potential and advantages such as fast growth, the ability to adapt to the environ- ment, and ease of cultivation. However, the biggest challenge in catfish farming is the high feed cost, so the profit margin is relatively low. In addition, the remaining aquaculture waste from catfish produces large amounts of nitrogen and carbon, which will impact decreasing environmen- tal capacity (Tung et al., 2021). Therefore, supporting, and efficient technology is crucial to increase the productivity of C. gariepinus. Biofloc technology is a solution to environmental problems and can increase aquaculture production. The biofloc *Correspondence : diana.maulianawati@gmail.com Received : 2023-01-30 Accepted : 2024-01-09 Keywords : Air stone, Air tube, Floc, Bacteria, Microalgae